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Guiding him to the couch, we both sat down. I watched him intently, my eyes silently pleading for good news.
"Is it over?" I asked, hoping against hope that the whirlwind of conflict had finally subsided.
Emilio's face darkened, and he shook his head, a sense of powerlessness flickering across his features.
"No," he admitted, and my heart sank. "The Mancini family was just a pawn in a much larger game. There's a mastermind, someone else pulling the strings."
I was shocked by the gravity of his words. I asked, "What do you mean? How do you know?"
He took a deep breath and began recounting the unsettling conversation he had with Crino, including the revelation of a mastermind orchestrating everything. It sent shivers down my spine as the implications of such a revelation sank in.
"And then," he continued, "when I spoke to my father about it, he acted suspicious. It's as if he knew more than he was letting on."
“I had something to discuss with my father concerning the problem with the Mancinis. I suspect that there is a third party involved, an unknown person or group that has been manipulating the Mancinis all this time. I don’t know who, and I don’t know why.” He looked frustrated and sad, running his hand through his hair.
I didn’t know which knocked my world off balance more, this news or my mom’s news. I was speechless.
"But when I spoke to my father about it, he acted suspicious. It's as if he knew more than he was letting on," Emilio continued.
I scoffed, frustration bubbling within me.
"What is it with parents and their secrets?" I vented, not realizing how agitated I was until the words spilled out.
He tried to lighten the mood with a teasing smile.
"What happened? Did your mother hide something from you?" he asked, his tone playfully curious.
The annoyance that had been simmering beneath the surface surged.
"Actually, yes," I retorted, sounding bitter.
I recounted the phone call with my mother and the distressing revelation. Emilio's playful demeanor vanished, replaced by concern.
"Oh wow, I had no idea," he said, his eyes reflecting genuine sympathy.
"Yeah, well, secrets seem to be a new family tradition," I replied with sarcasm. “And to make things worse, she didn’t want to tell me anything more over the phone. No indication of what really happened, where he is, or how long she’s known about this.” I was on a roll.
He cupped my cheek and gave me a tender kiss. "We'll face this together. I'll start digging around for information concerning your father. We need to know what's going on." He spoke gently, soothingly. This man was utterly amazing. He had just come from what must have been a most difficult conversation with his father, and yet reassuring me was his first priority. It was like rain on a flower; my heart couldn’t help but bloom in his care.
"Thank you," I whispered with gratitude, gazing into his sincere, blue eyes.
He nodded, kissing me deeper this time. “I need a shower,” he sighed and let go of me.
Emilio walked to his room, and I settled into a chair, lost in my thoughts. The weight of everything was beginning to take its toll. I felt ashamed at how close I had come to ranting earlier. The secrets, the potential danger, the reappearance of my father—it was all so much to process and was taking its toll.
I held no sense of kinship for my father. My mother’s suggestion that merely knowing my father was alive somehow put my life in danger was baffling and terrifying at the same time.
Why would anyone want to harm me because of him? What sort of mess had my family gotten into? Had my mother really tried to shield me from some unsavory truth, as Avery suggested?
There were just too many questions and seemingly no way to get at least some answers soon.
My phone buzzed, a welcome distraction from my chaotic thoughts. It was from Andrea. My fingers trembled slightly as I picked it up, my breath catching in my throat.
My heart raced as I opened the message, revealing the results of the tests I had taken earlier. The words blurred momentarily as my eyes struggled to focus. When the message finally came into sharp relief, my heart seemed to both leap and stand still.
I read the words again, just to be sure. The reality sank in, and I froze, not knowing what to feel. I was pregnant.
Chapter 26
